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Police cleared of wrongdoing
30/10/2007 16:18 - (SA)
Patna - Two policemen in India who joined a mob of civilians punching and kicking a man accused of stealing a gold chain and then dragging him down a street tied behind a motorcycle, have been cleared of any wrongdoing by authorities, an official said on Tuesday.
The event was caught on camera in late August and showed the rail-thin suspect - wearing only tattered trousers, his hands bound behind his back - being repeatedly punched in the face and kicked in the stomach, chest and back by a mob in Bhagalpur, a city in the eastern state of Bihar.
One man was seen whipping the suspect, identified only as Mohammed Aurangzeb, with a belt.
At one point, Aurangzeb was tied to the back of what appeared to be a police motorcycle and dragged down the street. At least two policemen could be seen in the video.
Suspension order will be revoked
The officers, LB Singh and Ramchandra Rai, were suspended after the video was aired on television news channels.
An inquiry by state police, however, concluded the two officers did not intentionally drag the man behind their motorcycle. The mob tied him to the vehicle, and he fell from it while on his way to the police station, director general of police Ashish Ranjan Sinha told The Associated Press.
The suspension orders against the two will now be revoked, Sinha added.
India police are routinely accused of beating suspects, especially poor ones, and tens of thousands of incidents of police brutality have been documented in India over the years.
One of the most flagrant cases occurred in Bhagalpur, the site of the beating incident, in 1979, when police blinded 31 alleged criminals by pouring acid into their eyes. The officers said they were trying to control crime and won plaudits from many residents tired of the city's perceived lawlessness.
Bihar is considered a particularly lawless Indian state, rampant with corrupt politicians, murderous police officers, underworld bosses and ordinary criminals.
- AP
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